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EXCLUSIVE : Top House Democrats are calling for an investigation into Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over allegations involving NVIDIA’s former CEO’s reported relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang resigned this week following allegations that he had an affair with Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed who is suspected of being a Chinese spy.
In the midst of the spy scandal, multiple investigative reports emerged claiming Lutnick received a classified memo warning him about Huang’s relationship with alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang, of no familial relation to the NVIDIA CEO.
“Howard Lutnick needs to be investigated over his role in Jensen Huang and the Chinese spy, we’re going to have an investigation into those allegations, that’s completely unacceptable,” Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who is expected to become chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, told Digital.
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Howard Lutnick joined the Trump administration as Commerce Secretary in 2025 after co-chairing Trump’s transition team. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Lieu alleged that despite Lutnick being briefed on the reported relationship between Huang and a woman identified by U.S. intelligence as a Chinese spy, he failed to take action.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and member of the House Select Committee on China, also expressed support for investigating Lutnick and did not rule out examining Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s involvement, as well.
“I think we need transparency,” Khanna told Digital. “I think we need to understand what they knew.”
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“Rubio knew about the Chinese spy, and then got invited to the China trip,” Khanna continued. “We need to get to the bottom of this.”
Lutnick and Rubio did not respond to Digital’s request for comment.
(L-R) US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US President Donald Trump, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick listen, during a cabinet meeting, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, of April 30, 2025. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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Many left-leaning lawmakers are jumping on the chance to name the Cabinet official they want to see face scrutiny when Democrats take back control of the House in January.
However, neither Khanna or Lieu shed light on how they would investigate, prosecute or remove Lutnick, and potentially Rubio. Neither of the Cabinet secretaries have been formally accused or indicted of wrongdoing in connection with the NVIDIA case.
House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is currently running unopposed for the Democratic nomination for Speaker of the House, did not respond to Digital’s request for comment on whether he spoke to either lawmakers on their desires to take action against Lutnick and Rubio.
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The lawmakers’ remarks signal that congressional Democrats could use their incoming majority to investigate senior Trump administration officials over their handling of alleged Chinese intelligence threats.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) appears on “Meet the Press” in Washington D.C., Sunday, Sep. 1, 2024 (William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images)
It is unclear whether Republican lawmakers will support the Democrats’ investigations. But following Huang’s resignation, House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., announced that the outgoing CEO has agreed to brief congressional committees following the scandal.
He also advocated for Congress to act quickly to pass bipartisan export control legislation in the year-end national defense bill.
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Moolenaar welcomed the resignation and added that companies such as NVIDIA should “never jeopardize our nation’s security by giving Chinese companies access to their most advanced chips,” and called on them to “change its corporate practices and appoint leadership that makes national security its top priority.”
